Micia

Roman Funerary Monuments Discovered at Vețel, Hunedoara County Abstract

The two monuments which form the subject of the present paper were accidentally discovered, in secondary position, at two different locations in the village of Vețel, Hunedoara County. One of the items is a fragment from a funerary stela (76 × 52 × 25 cm) (Fig. 1), made of red andesite from the Măgura Uroiului quarry. The artefact was recovered and introduced in the collection of the Museum of Deva (inv. no. 51393). Unfortunately, the monument’s state of preservation does not provide too much data. The inscription field is bordered by a frame. Inside, the lacunary text inscribed does not keep the name or age of the deceased female or the name of her husband who raised the monument. From the figurative field, two areas (panels) with human renderings are preserved: the dead female bust and the lower part of an Attis in the right part. We suppose that a similar mirror image was carved in a panel in the left side of the figurative register. The variant of this figured stela is unknown in the province of Dacia. The closest stelae in Dacia could be the types III B2 and III C2 at Lucia Țeposu-Marinescu and variant I2a from the typology made by Carmen Ciongradi. Anyway, other analogies for the divided registers of the figured field are four stelae coming from Pannonia Superior and Pannonia Inferior, which illustrate the bust of the deceased in an arch between or
Oana Tutilă, Marius Gheorghe Barbu 75
supported by two columns, or in a medallion. On each side of the central panel/medallion there are another two panels depicting human characters (Attis in three cases and a librarius and a servant in the fourth one). The second monument is a funerary lion (100 × 42 × 58 cm) (Fig. 3/1a-1b,  4/1a-1b), also made from the Uroi red andesite. Sadly, short time after it was seen, it was broken and reused when a pier was built. The lion lies on a half-column, to the right. The head is missing, but a part of the mane was kept on the neck of the feline and its strands are pictured as rhombs (pine cone shaped). A cattle head is rendered between the front paws of the lion. Far from being a piece of outstanding artistic quality, the andesite lion, as much as its fragmentary state allows us to appreciate, is a successful work, a product carefully executed, with concern for the correct rendering of anatomical details (the paws and sharp knuckles, the semi-open muzzle, with a well depicted dentition of the young calf). Certainly, these are two of the monuments that Micia was spoiled from over time and they must have been executed here. The stone carving workshop from Micia has been active from the middle of the 2nd century (or some years before) to the 3rd century, and it came to the fore not only for the variety of monuments produced, especially funerary ones, but also for some locally created decorative patterns (Medusa e.g.) or features of the human physiognomy.

This paper deals with two millefiori inset artefacts discovered in recent years in the Roman sites at Micia and Porolissum. While the function of one of the objects, a simple plate pierced by two rivet holes, remains undetermined, the other turned out to be an almost completely preserved, slightly trapezoidal hilt. The accompanying narrow, double-edged iron blade fragment poses some problems to the correct identification of the weapon (knife or dagger?). Two other hilts of this sort are located in inaccessible private collections, but a few miniature variants, most likely penknife handles, were noted in the literature. Because the slight resemblance between these hilts and millefiori glass inlaid strigil handles can cause some confusion, a more detailed analysis is carried out to explain the differences and set them apart. Lastly, a possible association of millefiori hilts with matching belt plates is briefly discussed.

The subject of this paper is a base of statue (CIL III 1343) found in 1862 under unknown conditions in the auxiliary camp of Micia and unfortunately lost. Several scholars, among them Th. Mommsen, N. Gostar and I. I. Russu, have dealt with CIL III 1343. The monument was dedicated for the health of the two Augusti, Septimius Severus and Caracalla and of Geta Caesar. The a. thinks that in l. 6 must be read [a]quil[am arg]en[t(eam)]; the dedication was made by the prefect of the ala Campagonum and the vexillations of other units further mentioned found themselves in Micia after returning from the war against Clodius Albinus or before leaving for the Parthian war. This brings us to about the beginning of 198. Resumé. Le sujet de cet article est constitué par une base de statue (CIL III 1343) trouvée en 1862, dans des circonstances inconnues, dans le camp auxiliaire de Micia et aujourd'hui perdue. Plusieurs savants, dont Th. Mommsen, N. Gostar et I. I. Russu, se sont occupés de CIL III 1343. Le monument a été élevé pour la santé des deux Augustes, Septime Sévère et Caracalla, et pour la santé du César Geta. L'auteur pense que la sixième ligne il faut lire [a]quil[am arg]en[t(eam)]; le voeu a été fait par le préfet de l'ala Campagonum et les vexillations des autres unités énumérées se trouvaient à Micia après avoir été de retour de la guerre contre Clodius Albinus ou de partir pour la guerre contre les Parthes. Cela signifie que le moment est environ le début de 198. Rezumat. din nefericire-au Septimius Severus r. 6 trebuie citit [a]quil[am arg]en[t(eam)]; Campagonum i-au 1 U-Bolyai " de Cluj-Napoca, Centre d'Études Romaines.